Lasting glamp



March 11, 1941,

} F. ASHWORTH ET AL LASTING CLAMP Filed April 4, 1940 [VI/E/VTUAY Patented Mar. 11, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LASTING CLAMP Application April 4, 1940, Serial No. 327,930

14 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of moccasins and is herein illustrated as embodied in a lasting clamp for use in the practice of the method disclosed in our copending application 5 Serial No. 240,546, filed November 15, 1938, for Manufacture of moccasins of which the present application is a continuation in part. The term moccasin as used herein includes all types of footwear in which that portion of the bottom of the foot from the region of the ball forwardly is provided with an integral covering the marginal portion of which extends upwardly about the sides of the forepart of the foot, the portion of the I moccasin which underlies the bottom of the foot and extends upwardly about the sides thereof being hereinafter referred to as the moccasin bottom.

In the practice of the method disclosed in our copending application above referred to, a moccasin bottom is positioned on a forepart shaping form and shaping means are applied to the forepart of the moccasin bottom and operated in such a manner as to shape the forepart to the form. When the moccasin bottom has been worked upwardly over the form and shaped thereto, it is necessary to hold it in this position while the forepart is trimmed and a toe piece attached thereto. It is accordingly an object of the present a invention to provide a lasting clamp which may be easily and quickly slipped over the form and which will hold the shaped moccasin bottom in position until the toe piece has been attached.

With this object in view, the invention provides a clamp constructed and arranged to engage the periphery of the forepart of the moccasin bottom and grip it against the form, this clamp being provided with means for engaging the margin only of the forepart of the sole portion of the moccasin bottom adjacent to the toe end and at the ball portion, thereby to position the clamp heightwise. Provision of means for securing the clamp tov the form is also made. In one form of the invention this means comprises a pair of rearward- 5' ly extending ears through which tacks may be driven into the forepart form, and in another emconsidered in relation to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the clamp;

Fig. 2 shows a modification of the clamp in po- 5 sition on a form;

Fig. 3 is a view of the rear end of another modification of the clamp; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of still another modification in which a bail is yieldably connected to the clamp.

According to the method of making moccasins described in our copending application, Serial No. 240,546, a moccasin bottom is shaped on a special form It such as that illustrated in Fig. 2. When first mounted on the form, the forepart of the moccasin bottom H is a substantially flat piece of leather while the heel part is approximately in its final form. After the heel part has been located on the rear part of the form (not shown), it is secured there by tacks, and the form and the moccasin bottom are mounted in upright position in a lasting machine such as that illustrated in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,086,526, granted July 13, 1937, on an application of Fred Ashworth. The shaping of the forepart is performed by the operation of a flexible shaping member or cable which is drawn rearwardly of the moccasin, the margin of the forepart of the moccasin bottom being manually drawn up about the bottom of the form for the reception of the cable. As the cable is drawn rearwardly of the form, it grips the margin of the forepart of the moccasin bottom and draws it upwardly over the inwardly-inclined peripheral surface of the forepart of the form. This movement of the cable stretches the forepart of the moccasin bottom about the form and compresses the margin of the forepart to cause it to assume the shape of the form.

When this lasting operation has been completed and while the moccasin bottom is held'in lasted position by the cable, theoperator stretches the side portions of the forepart about the form by any convenient means, the forepart of the moccasin bottom being held in this position by the clamping action of the cable. After the forepart has been so lasted and stretched, it is necessary to remove the lasted assembly from the machine to enable the operator to trim the periphery of the forepart and to fasten thereto the moccasin top piece or plug.

In order to maintain the moccasin bottom in lasted position during the removal of the form from the lasting machine and during the trim- 55 ming and other operations, there is provided a clamp such as that illustrated in Fig. 1. This clamp comprises a metal band 42, the contours of which are approximately the same as the sides of the forepart of the form, so that when the clamp is slipped over the lasted moccasin bottom, it will hold the moccasin bottom tightly against the form and prevent it from slipping relative thereto. To insure that the clamp will not slip and to position it in predetermined relation to the forepart form, there are provided a number of inwardly extending lugs or flanges [4. These lugs in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. l are made integral with the side band I2 and are bent inwardly to engage the margin of the forepart of the form. When the clamp is fitted over the lasted moccasin bottom with these lugs against the bottom of the form, the four-point engagement of the lugs with the moccasin bottom adjacent to the toe end and at the ball portion insures that the clamp will be positioned accurately heightwise and will not slip upwardly over the inwardly-inclined surface of the form, either at the toe end of the form or at points rearwardly thereof.

In order to secure the clamp to the form, the band I2 i provided with ears I6 which are integral With the ends of the band at both sides of the clamp. It is to be noted that these ears are oifset slightly from the main portion of the band 12 so that if the clamp is being used on a moccasin having a collar l8 such as that illustrated in Fig. 2, the added thickness of the collar will not prevent the rear portions of the band adjacent the ears from lying closely against the sides of the form. Fastening of the ears l6 to the form is accomplished by means of tacks driven through holes 20 in the ears and into the forepart form. As pointed out in our copending application Serial No. 240,546, above referred to,

the upper edge 22 of the band l2 may conveniently be used as a guide in trimming the periphery of the forepart of the moccasin bottom after it has been lasted. The spacing apart of lugs l4 insures that the top edge of the clamp will always be in a predetermined heightwise relation to the form at all points, and thus, when employing the top edge of the clamp as a trimming guide, it is made certain that the trimming operation will always be eifected along the same line.

An alternative form of clamp is illustrated in Fig. 2. In this modification, the band 24 which extends about the periphery of the forepart of the form to clamp the moccasin bottom thereagainst reaches only part way down to the bottom of the form. Extending about the entire periphery of the bottom of the clamp is a band or flange 26, the outer edge of which has substantially the same contour as the bottom of the form. This band is connected to the inwardly-turned ends 28 of downwardly extending ears 3!] integral with the band 24. The band 26 holds the clamp in approximately the same shape as the forepart of the form and eliminates to a large extent any danger that the clamp will be sprung out of shape laterally so that it no longer fits the form properly.

Inorder to secure the clamp to the form in clamping position, there is provided a bail 32, preferably of a somewhat resilient material. One end of this bail extends through a hole in a horizontally extending offset portion 34 of the rearward ear 36 which connects the band 24 and the bottom flange 26. A ball 38 formed on the end of the bail prevents the bail from slipping out of the hole in the offset portion 34. On the other end of .the bail 32 there is provided a hook 40 which slips over the oflset portion 34 of the rearward ear 36 on the opposite side of the clamp. When the clamp is in clamping position, the bail 32 engages a lug 42 secured to the forepart form, this lug acting as a catch to hold the bail in position and to prevent the clamp from being released accidentally. The resiliency of the bail enables the hook 40 to he slipped over the offset 34 when the clamp is being applied and insures that the clamp will be held tightly against the moccasin bottom. Another modification of the means for securing the clamp to the form in clamping position is illustrated in Fig. 3. In this structure each end of the bail 32 is provided with a hook 40 which slips over the offset portion 34 of the clamp thereby anchoring the ends of the clamp.

The foregoing modifications of the clamp are all disclosed in our said application Serial No. 240,546. Figure 4, however, illustrates a form of the clamp not disclosed in that application. In this construction the body of the clamp is substantially similar to that illustrated in Fig. 2. At the rear ends of the clamping band 24, there are provided horizontally extending ears 44. Holes 46 are formed in these ears to receive the hooked ends of springs 48. A loop 50 is formed in the other end of each of the springs 48 and into these loops the ends 52 of a bail 54 are hooked. The springs 48 enable the bail to be slipped over the lug 42 on the forepart of the form and hold the clamp tightly against the forepart of the form so that for the clamping action reliance need not be had upon the resilience of the material from which the bail is made.

Because of the loose connections at both ends of the springs 48, there is a tendency for the springs and bail to get tangled as the clamp is being handled before it is put on the form. To avoid wasting the operator's time in straightening out the springs and bail, the end of the loop 50 is extended rearwardly and has formed in it an offset hook 56. This hook slips over the side bar of the bail and eliminates one of the loose connections. By this means the possibility of the spring, bail and ears 44 getting tangled with one another is substantially reduced.

Having described the invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A clamp for holding a moccasin bottom against a form, said clamp comprising a member constructed and arranged to engage the periphery of the forepart of the moccasin bottom and to grip it against the periphery of the form, and means constructed and arranged to engage the margin only of the sole portion of the forepart of the moccasin bottom adjacent to the toe end and at the ball portion thereby to position the clamp heightwise of the moccasin bottom.

2. A clamp for holding-the forepart of a moccasin bottom against a form, said clamp comprising a band constructed and arranged to engage the periphery of the forepart of the moccasin bottom and to clamp it tightly against the form, and inwardly extending flange means constructed and arranged to engage the margin only of the sole portion of the moccasin bottom at the ball portion thereof.

3. A clamp for holding the forepart of a moccasin bottom against a form, said clamp comprising a band constructed and arranged to engage the periphery of the forepart of the moocasin bottom and to grip it against the form, and inwardly extending flange means constructed and arranged to engage the margin only of the sole portion of the iorepart of the moccasin bottom adjacent to the toe end and at the ball portion thereof.

4. A clamp for holding the forepart of a moccasin bottom against a form, said clamp comprising a band constructed and arranged to engage the periphery of the forepart of the moccasin bottom and to grip it against the form, a flange constructed and arranged to engage the margin only of the sole portion of the entire forepart of the moccasin bottom, and means connecting said band and said flange together in spaced relation heightwise of the moccasin bottom.

5. A clamp for holding a moccasin bottom against a form, said clamp comprising a member constructed and arranged to engage the periphery of the forepart of the moccasin bottom and grip it against the form, means for engaging the margin only of the entire forepart of the sole portion of the moccasin thereby to position the clamp heightwise of the moccasin bottom, and means for securing said clamp in clamping position.

5. A clamp for holding a moccasin bottom against a form, said clamp comprising a member constructed and arranged to engage the periphery of the forepart of the moccasin bottom and grip it against the form, means for engaging the margin only of the entire forepart of the sole portion of the moccasin bottom thereby to position the clamp heightwise of the moccasin bottom, and means constructed and arranged to operate on the forepart of the form to secure said clamp in clamping position.

'7. A clamp for holding a moccasin bottom against a form, said clamp comprising a band constructed and arranged to engage the periphery of the forepart of the moccasin bottom and to grip it against the form, and means for securing said clamp to the form comprising a member having a permanent connection to one side of said band and a breakable connection to the other side of said band.

8. A clamp for holding a moccasin bottom against a form, said clamp comprising a band constructed and arranged to grip the periphery of the forepart of the moccasin bottom against the form, outward extensions at opposite sides of said band, and a bail permanently connected to one of said extensions and having a breakable connection to the other of said extensions and arranged when connected to both said extensions to engage the form and thereby to secure the clamp in clamping position.

9. A clamp for holding a moccasin bottom against a form, said clamp comprising a. member constructed and arranged to engage the periphery of the forepart of the moccasin bottom and grip it against the form, means for engaging the margin only of the entire forepart of the sole portion of the moccasin bottom thereby to position said member heightwise of the moccasin bottom, and extensions of said member provided with perforations arranged to receive tacks for securing the clamp to the form.

10. A clamp for holding a moccasin bottom against a form, said clamp comprising a member constructed and arranged to engage the periphery of the forepart of the moccasin bottom and grip it against the form, means for engaging the margin only of the entire forepart of the sole portion of the moccasin bottom thereby to position said member heightwise of the moccasin bottom, and means on said member constructed and arranged to provide an anchorage for a member for securing the clamp to the form.

11. A clamp for holding a moccasin bottom against a form, said clamp comprising a member constructed and arranged to engage the periphery of the forepart of the moccasin bottom and grip it against the form, means for engaging the margin only of the entire forepart of the sole portion of the moccasin bottom thereby to position said member heightwise of the moccasin bottom, and an outward extension at each side of the clamp providing an anchorage for a bail for securing the clamp to the form.

12. A clamp for holding a moccasin bottom against a form, said clamp comprising a band constructed and arranged to engage the forepart of a moccasin bottom and grip it against the periphery of the form, another band constructed and arranged to engage the margin only of the entire periphery of the sole portion of the moccasin bottom and position the clamp heightwise of the moccasin bottom, and members connecting the end portions of said bands in spaced relation to each other, each member having an outwardly extending portion which provides an anchorage for a bail for securing the clamp to the form.

13. A clamp for holding a moccasin bottom against a form, said clamp comprising a member constructed and arranged to engage the periphery of the forepart of the moccasin bottom and to grip it against the form, means for engaging the margin only of the entire forepart of the sole portion of the moccasin bottom thereby to position said member heightwise of the moccasin bottom, and a bail yieldably connected to said forepart engaging member and constructed and arranged to secure the clamp to the form.

14. A clamp for holding a moccasin bottom against a form, said clamp comprising a member constructed and arranged to engage the periphery of the forepart of the moccasin bottom and to grip it against the form, means for engaging the margin only of the entire forepart of the sole portion of the moccasin bottom thereby to position said member heightwise of the moccasin bottom, extensions at each side of said clamp, a bail for securing said clamp to the form, and yieldable members for connecting the bail to the extensions.

FRED ASHWORTH. CORWIN W. BAKER. 

